Ford stared at Arthur, who began to think that perhaps he didwant to go to the Horse and Groom after all.

"But what about my house ...?" he asked plaintively.

Ford looked across to Mr Prosser, and suddenly a wicked thoughtstruck him.

"He wants to knock your house down?"

"Yes, he wants to build ..."

"And he can't because you're lying in front of the bulldozers?"

"Yes, and ..."

"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement," said Ford. "Excuseme!" he shouted.

Mr Prosser (who was arguing with a spokesman for the bulldozerdrivers about whether or not Arthur Dent constituted a mentalhealth hazard, and how much they should get paid if he did)looked around. He was surprised and slightly alarmed to find thatArthur had company."Yes? Hello?" he called. "Has Mr Dent come to his senses yet?"

"Can we for the moment," called Ford, "assume that he hasn't?"

"Well?" sighed Mr Prosser.

"And can we also assume," said Ford, "that he's going to bestaying here all day?"

"So?"

"So all your men are going to be standing around all day doingnothing?"

"Could be, could be ..."

"Well, if you're resigned to doing that anyway, you don'tactually need him to lie here all the time do you?"

"What?"

"You don't," said Ford patiently, "actually need him here."

Mr Prosser thought about this.

"Well no, not as such...", he said, "not exactly need ..."Prosser was worried. He thought that one of them wasn't making alot of sense.

Ford said, "So if you would just like to take it as read thathe's actually here, then he and I could slip off down to the pubfor half an hour. How does that sound?"

Mr Prosser thought it sounded perfectly potty.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable," he said in a reassuring toneof voice, wondering who he was trying to reassure.

"And if you want to pop off for a quick one yourself later on,"said Ford, "we can always cover up for you in return."

"Thank you very much," said Mr Prosser who no longer knew how toplay this at all, "thank you very much, yes, that's very kind..." He frowned, then smiled, then tried to do both at once,failed, grasped hold of his fur hat and rolled it fitfully roundthe top of his head. He could only assume that he had just won.

"So," continued Ford Prefect, "if you would just like to comeover here and lie down ..."

"What?" said Mr Prosser.

"Ah, I'm sorry," said Ford, "perhaps I hadn't made myself fullyclear. Somebody's got to lie in front of the bulldozers haven'tthey? Or there won't be anything to stop them driving into MrDent's house will there?"

"What?" said Mr Prosser again."It's very simple," said Ford, "my client, Mr Dent, says that hewill stop lying here in the mud on the sole condition that youcome and take over from him."

"What are you talking about?" said Arthur, but Ford nudged himwith his shoe to be quiet.

"You want me," said Mr Prosser, spelling out this new thought tohimself, "to come and lie there ..."

"Yes."

"In front of the bulldozer?"

"Yes."

"Instead of Mr Dent."

"Yes."

"In the mud."

"In, as you say it, the mud."

As soon as Mr Prosser realized that he was substantially theloser after all, it was as if a weight lifted itself off hisshoulders: this was more like the world as he knew it. He sighed.